High-profile Designated Player signing Barry Robson is introduced as the newest Vancouver Whitecap at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Monday, June 18, 2012.Wayne Leidenfrost
/ PNG

'I know I'm going to have to work hard to get on the side, I know that. I'm not stupid,' new Vancouver Whitecap Barry Robson told reporters Monday at BC Place Stadium. 'Some really good, young, terrific people are here.'Michael Regan
/ Getty Images

Given the opportunities available to Robson — of the “Premiership and Championship” varieties, according to Rennie — it seemed like the Whitecaps and Major League Soccer just couldn’t compete with perhaps more enticing offers.

However, on Monday, the Whitecaps formally introduced Robson to the media at a press conference at BC Place Stadium, a little more than four months after an agreement was struck between the two sides that made Robson the club’s newest designated player.

"It just didn't seem realistic to a few people I spoke to, but thankfully it turned out to be the case that it was realistic,” said Rennie.

“And we're really happy that he's here because we think he can add a lot on the field and off the field. We think he can add a lot in the locker room. Now he gets a chance to be part of a team that's already a strong team."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, as per the club’s policy, Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said Monday. However, Robson implied to reporters the length of the contract is three years.

“It’s going to take me [until] I’m 36, maybe beyond or maybe before,” said the 33-year-old Robson, voted as the Middlesbrough FC Player of the Year this past season.

Robson joins the Whitecaps midway through the MLS season, which means just $175,000 of his salary will count towards the $2.8-million salary cap.

Having completed the English League Championship’s 2011-12 season with Middlesbrough FC, where he scored 18 goals and 16 assists over the course of three seasons, Robson will be eligible to play for the Whitecaps after the secondary North American transfer window opens on June 27, said Lenarduzzi.

The first match he will be available to play in will be on July 4 against the Colorado Rapids. The first chance local fans will have to see Robson at BC Place is on July 18 against the L.A. Galaxy.

Robson, who has made 16 international appearances for Scotland since 2007, also met with his new teammates for the first time Monday morning, prior to the club’s training session.

After meeting with the media, he hit the pitch for a light workout with his new mates, his intensity drummed down given he arrived in Vancouver Sunday night.

He’s already familiar with Vancouver’s rainy reputation — the local climate is not all that dissimilar from his native homeland — and he knows about Robson Street, made famous by its shopping and restaurants.

But, apart from that, Robson and his family are the proverbial new kids on the block.

“My wife came over for a week with my eldest daughter and she picked a house and got a school and got everything sorted, so I never really seen anything,” he said. “My wife’s happy, my children are happy and I’m happy. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Robson’s arrival, at least on paper, should add to a Whitecaps club that is having a breakout season.

After finishing the 2011 MLS regular season in last place in the Western Conference with a dismal 6-18-10 record, the Whitecaps of 2012 are currently third in the West with a 7-3-4 record.

The Vancouver side takes on the New York Red Bulls — who will be without designated players Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez due to injury — on Wednesday at BC Place (8 p.m., TSN, Team 1410).

With a win, the Whitecaps can complete this recent three-game homestand coming out of the international break with a perfect record, before hitting the road for five games.

Robson knows he will have to earn his selection into the lineup. It won’t happen just because of contract status.

"I respect my teammates wherever I go," he said.

"I know I'm going to have to work hard to get on the side, I know that. I'm not stupid. Some really good, young, terrific people are here. It's going to be hard but I'm looking forward to working with them and making me better and hopefully I can make them better."

However, with Robson, the club will need to open up an international spot, which can be acquired through a trade.

The Whitecaps make no secret about the fact they are currently active in the trade market.

“Ownership have made a commitment to the coaching staff that if there’s players that we think will upgrade the squad, then there’s a willingness on ownership’s part to pursue those types of opportunities,” said Lenarduzzi.

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